


In Morning Light

by leavesofautumn



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Sexual Content, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-26 23:01:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20938190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leavesofautumn/pseuds/leavesofautumn
Summary: Bryce realizes Casey never came home the night she went to visit Ethan.





	In Morning Light

Bryce leaned back against the wall of the shower at the gym, letting the hot water run down his chest as his thoughts once more drifted back to Casey. He wondered how her conversation with Ethan had gone, and if she’d been able to persuade him to join her cause at the upcoming trial.

She needed all the help she could get. He was glad he’d been able to help sway some of the senior physicians her way earlier today, but that wouldn’t be enough. They needed Ramsey as well…as much as he hated to admit something like that. They needed whatever magical pull he seemed to have over the whole of Edenbrook.

The thought of Ramsey and her alone though, at his condo without hospital rules and guidelines to separate them, made him physically _ sick_. He knew those two had something together, something he would never understand and frankly - didn’t want to. Casey would try and deny it, sure, but she’s a piss-poor liar. He can see it in her eyes whenever she mentions him - the fact that she’s completely taken with him.

Why? Bryce had no clue. He didn’t see the appeal, besides the obvious sexual one. Ramsey struck him as a brooding, depressing bore - someone with a stick shoved so far up his ass it was a wonder he managed to walk straight.

Ramsey also seemed…unhealthy somehow. Time and time again Bryce had seen him moping about the hospital - sulking away. As far as he could tell the man didn’t have any friends and could barely keep his shit together. At _ Donahue’s _ he always drank alone, straight liquor and a somber expression plastered on his weary face as he tipped back glass after glass, night after night.

Yet Casey _ still _ hovered towards him whenever they were in the same room together, like a polarized magnet or a tide returning obediently to the shore. She was drawn to him by some insane, inexplicable force that downright _ baffled _Bryce.

He sighed, shutting off the water, standing there naked as the cool air struck his bare skin. His mind drifted back to that night in her bathroom, to her fingers sliding beneath his waistband and his hands rough on her wet thighs as he’d taken her against the tile.

She’d said he’d meant something to her that night. She’d made it seem like she wanted more from him.

What a joke.

And yet he still felt the need to check on her, to make sure Ramsey had agreed to back her up in front of the board. No doubt she would be a mess if he said no, and Bryce wanted to be there for her if that was the case.

Damn his own heart, he supposed. He only seemed to care about hers these days.

He got dressed and slung his gym bag over his shoulder, stepping out into the night. She didn’t live very far from here, and so he walked, turning onto Emerson street and approaching the townhouse she and the other medical interns rented.

He wondered if Landry had moved out yet. The little snake. It had taken every ounce of restraint Bryce had not to beat the shit out of him for ratting on Casey to the Martinez family. For putting her in this kind of a predicament to start with.

What would she do if she lost her medical license? Where would she go? He had the utmost faith in her abilities to convince the board she deserved her place at Edenbrook...but_ what if? _ What if by this time next week she wasn’t a doctor at all?

He couldn’t imagine what he would do in that position. He had other skills, sure. But could he go back to being a bartender after having been a surgeon? No way in hell. It would only feel like a life half-lived to him after seeing and doing all he had this past year.

Because medicine was who they _ were._ It was a part of them - right down to their bones.

No wonder Casey had been a wreck lately. The what-ifs were probably eating her alive right now, bouncing around in her over-calculating brain like a pinball.

He would reassure her tonight that he was there for her. That no matter what the trial brought - he had her back.

For better or worse. Doctor or not.

Because she was his best friend, as well as something more…at least in his eyes.

Hopefully the rest of her friends shared that mentality. He hoped they would stick by her, even if she lost her license and source of income. I mean, they wouldn’t just toss her out onto the streets…would they? He didn’t see that as a possibility. They were all good people.

But then again - _ what if? _

He snorted. He didn’t even have to think about it. He knew he’d offer her a place with him in a heartbeat. He only had a one bedroom apartment, but that wouldn’t stop him. He would permanently move into the living room if it meant she would be safe and sound as she rebuilt her life.

He climbed the front steps, pulling his keys from his pocket and flipping through them until he found the one he needed. He unlocked the door and stepped inside quietly, careful not to wake the rest of the house as he climbed the stairs.

He looked down at his keys as he walked down the upstairs hallway, fingers lingering on the one for the townhouse. He’d been positively _ elated _ when Casey had first given it to him. He’d thought it had meant something. That they were moving forward.

But no. It had simply been for…convenience. Whatever it was they did in the dead of night that they didn’t talk about during the day. Emergencies. That sort of thing.

He knocked softly, pushing open her door and stepping inside.

Then froze, feeling his bag slip from his shoulder. It nearly fell to the floor. He caught it at the very last second, setting it down gently.

Where was she?

Her bed was still made, duvet smooth of any wrinkles, pillows still propped up perfectly against the headboard. Completely untouched. 

He looked down at his watch. It was almost one in the morning. His stomach lurched.

_ Where was she? _

“Bryce?”

Bryce turned towards the low whisper coming from behind him. Sienna was leaning against the doorframe, wearing pink spotted pajamas and a wary expression.

It didn’t concern him in the least that she knew he was here. Sienna had known about him and Casey for a while now, and had been decent enough not to tell the others at Casey’s request.

But what _ did _ concern him was the pity in her eyes as she stared up at him. The downright empathetic manner in which she frowned, her lips pressed into a thin line.

“She never came home,” he observed quietly, sticking his hands in his pockets as he glanced around the room. He avoided Sienna’s eyes. “She’s still at Ramsey’s.”

Sienna didn’t reply aloud, but when he finally dared to look at her she nodded solemnly.

_ “Fuck.” _

Sienna flinched at the obscenity that left his lips, and he quickly raised a hand in apology, muttering sorry under his breath as he turned and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

He knew those two were close, but not _ that _ close.

Images flooded his mind in waves. He pictured her in that man’s arms - kissing him, touching him, screwing him. Ramsey’s head between her thighs, his fingers caressing her in all the secret places Bryce had come to know like the back of his own hand. Casey lying on her back, legs wrapped around his waist -

He grimaced, feeling bile rise in his throat.

He liked to think his jealousy was unwarranted, that those two couldn’t _ possibly _be doing any of the scenarios racing through his head.

But he knew better.

Christ, he _ knew_.

He glanced up at her nightstand, feeling his chest tighten. She had three framed photos on it. One of Mrs. Martinez in Paris, one of her and her roommates smiling on a boat…and one of them. Of his arms looping her waist from behind. Of her grinning ear to ear as she snapped a selfie of the two of them at a nightclub. They’d been out dancing that night. Had stayed out until the brink of dawn.

She’d kissed him too…right after taking that photo - sweet and simple and perfect. 

Had that meant _ nothing _ to her?

He didn’t turn back to Sienna, but knew she could see him staring down at that photo like some dejected, pining teenager. He felt his fist clench at his side.

“What’s Ramsey got that I don’t?” he asked.

The question left his lips before he had time to reign it in. It hung heavy it the air, thick between the two of them. He turned to her, exasperated, throwing his hands up. Now that he’d started he couldn’t stop.

“I mean it. I need to know,” Bryce said in a harsh whisper, feeling his temper flare, “I need to know why she picks _ him - _ again and again _ \- _ even though he’s _ never _ around when she actually needs him.” He sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “It’s just…I’ve always been there for her, Sienna. _ Always. _ Ever since day one.” 

Sienna nodded in agreement, her voice barely above a whisper. “I know.”

“Then _ why_?” Bryce demanded.

Sienna shrugged in response. The truth was plain as day, but Bryce wouldn’t admit it to himself. He obviously needed to hear it from someone else.

“Sometimes we don’t get to choose the people we love,” Sienna finally said, eyes downcast. “I know that better than anyone.”

Bryce swallowed hard as a bitter taste entered his mouth. “You think she _ loves _ him?” 

“I do…and I think he might love her as well.”

Bryce didn’t know what to say to that. He sat there, stunned into silence, trying to process the notion of Ethan Ramsey _ loving _anything. It seemed ridiculous to him. How could he love her when he barely knew her? He’s only ever been around Casey Valentine - M.D.

He didn't know her as a person. Who she was out in the real world.

Not the way Bryce did.

“I love her too,” he admitted quietly, for the first time to anyone other than himself as he stared down at the floor.

He felt a gentle hand squeeze his shoulder. It was obvious Sienna didn’t know what to say at this point except:

“I’m sorry.”

He nodded bitterly, pushing her hand away.

“Are you gonna be okay?” she asked.

Bryce shrugged one of his shoulders, his eyes once more falling to the picture of him and Casey.

“I’ll be fine. I just need a minute is all. You go back to bed. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“You didn’t. I was already up,” Sienna said. She turned and walked to the doorway, lingering a moment. She tapped at the knob with a single finger, contemplating something. “You know, if it means anything to you…I really thought you two were perfect together. The way you make her smile…the way she talks about you…”

Bryce scoffed. He’d thought so too.

“Thanks, Trihn,” he mumbled.

She gave him one last look before retreating into the hall, her footsteps light on the hardwood as she made her way back to her room. When he heard her door click shut he reached for the picture off Casey’s nightstand, holding it in his hands.

He stared down at it numbly, feeling hollow inside, then slammed it face down impulsively, hearing the thin glass crack.

_ Screw her, _he thought, laying back across the bed. If she wanted to be with Ramsey, so be it. He didn’t care. 

…except he _ did _ care. Too damn much.

More than words could describe.

~)x(~

Bryce hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep until he heard footsteps approaching the door. He blinked wearily, holding up a hand against the sunlight pouring in through Casey’s window as he sat up.

_ Shit. _

He watched as she entered the room, her womanly figure stealthily slipping inside the door. As she closed it she let out an exshausted sigh, dropping her forehead to the white grain.

“Case?” he mumbled groggily.

She jumped, one hand clutched to her chest as she spun around.

_ “Bryce?” _She paused to catch her breath. “What the hell? What are you doing here? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“Sorry,” he said quickly, standing up and smoothing out his clothes, “I dropped by last night to make sure you were okay. I guess I must’ve fallen…” He stopped talking as he looked up at her. At the smudges of yesterday’s mascara and the now wrinkled dress she’d worn to the country club. He swallowed hard, face crestfallen. “…asleep.”

She noticed the way he was staring and looked down at herself. When she did her face paled. She awkwardly stepped to the side.

“Shit. Bryce, I can explain-”

“Please,” he said quickly, hearing his voice crack. “Just…don’t. Okay?”

He sighed, reaching into his pocket for his keys, sliding the one to her townhouse off the ring. He walked across the room without a single word, leaning past her to set it down firmly on her desk. As he did he smelt cologne on her hair. Sex on her skin.

“What’re you-?”

She reached for him, and he took a reactive step backwards, glaring down at her. He stared a long moment before finally speaking, fixated on her messy auburn hair.

She’d _ never _ looked this way after leaving _ his _ place. She had a change of clothes there. Spare make-up in the bathroom. Her own hairbrush. Had Ramsey _ really _ let her walk home this morning looking like a hungover college student?

“Case?”

“Hm?”

“What were we?” he asked quietly. He watched her eyes begin to water and swallowed hard, a lump forming in his thought. “I mean, did you _ ever _care for me…or was I just kidding myself this whole time?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but words didn’t come out. A single tear slid down her face as she shrugged.

“I don’t know,” she finally managed to mumble, looking down at her feet. She raised her eyes back to his, her voice low. “I don’t know what we were.”

“Guess it doesn’t matter now, does it?” he said dejectedly, his expression flat.

He turned towards the door, reaching for the knob. As he did he felt her hand grip his wrist, locking him in place. He exhaled hard, turning back to gaze down at her. She looked torn all of a sudden. Unsure of something.

He watched her eyes search his face.

“You tell me.”

Christ, he couldn’t do this. Not now, not looking at her and picturing all the ways Ramsey had touched her last night. 

At all the ways she’d touched _ him _in return.

He felt his blood boil at the thought.

“I loved you,” he said simply, hurt in his voice as he shook her hand off in disgust, “I know I never said it out loud, but I thought that much was obvious. I thought you could tell.”

He turned and walked out the door, hearing her follow after him.

“Bryce, wait!” she called out.

He spun around, nearly bumping into her. “What for, Casey? What am I waiting on? For you to make up your damn mind over what you want?” He laughed humorlessly. “Because if that’s the case than I can make things real fucking easy for you. You and I - we’re _ done_. Whatever the hell we were - it’s _ over_.”

She looked at him as though he had just slapped her.

“You don’t mean that,” she whispered.

He felt his face fall.

“I do, though.” He reached for her, his hand cupping her jaw. He brushed his thumb across her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin for the last time. “You made your choice, Case…now I’m making mine.”

He let his hand fall away, stepping back. As he walked down the hall he paused, looking over his shoulder at her from the staircase.

“I hope he treats you right…the way I would’ve. Don’t settle for less, okay?”

With those final words spoken he made his way down the stairs. He stepped out into the morning light, not quite sure what to do next. Where to go.

Only knowing things were really over between him and Casey. Only wishing he could remember the last time they’d kissed. The last time he’d woken up with her in his arms, thinking she was his and his alone.

Only wishing life wasn’t so damn cruel.

.

.

.


End file.
